Solidiance opens Beijing office, 2nd hub in China after Shanghai
Solidiance, an Asia-based management consultancy has opened a second office in China. Within the space of a few years the firm aims at growing its new Beijing office to match the scale and breadth of its existing Shanghai hub.
Solidiance since its inception in 2006, builds on a strong heritage in China – its Shanghai office was in fact one of Solidiance’s first two offices. Over the past ten years the firm has across the continent grown into one of Asia’s larger home-grown management consulting firms, with today over 130 consultants employed, based in locations in 11 countries.
The China-based operation has of late also seen strong growth, states co-founder and CEO Damien Duhamel. “For years, the operations in Shanghai have grown at a very fast pace.” The local growth was driven by an expanding client portfolio, but recently further accelerated by inorganic growth – in July the management consultancy acquired Technomic Asia, a Shanghai-based counterpart with a track record of over 700 engagements in China since its foundation in the late 70’s.
The acquisition was however not sufficient to still the market’s hunger for Solidiance’s services, says Duhamel. “While we continue to expand the team and service offering in Shanghai, we recognise that more of our clients are beginning to establish strategic marketing activities and focus in the capital city as well. We identified a strong need to be fully present in Beijing to address our clients’ requirements. China is simply too big to have one single office.”
To accommodate for the growing demand, Solidiance last month formally opened its new Beijing office. The hub will mirror the firm’s service portfolio in Shanghai, and looking at the mid-term, Duhamel says he expects the Beijing office to grow rapidly and eventually match the size of the firm’s other Chinese operation.
Besides serving local organisations, Solidiance Beijing is set to play a large role in helping foreign corporates enter the market and grow their presence in the Republic. In particular the Silk Road Economic Belt – a development strategy and framework proposed by the government that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily between China and the rest of Eurasia – is catching the eye of international players. “We are witnessing a real interest from Western, Middle East and Asian clients in the Silk Road and the One Belt, One Road initiatives. Being positioned in China's capital city, we are in a position to have immediate awareness and direct access to interpretations behind Chinese policies. We therefore aim to provide a clearer picture of China's regulatory landscape for our clients' critical business decisions.”
